Tubert gets invite to LPGA event

BURBANK — Emily Tubert received some good news last week while she was competing in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship.

Tubert, a Burroughs High graduate who will be a sophomore at the University of Arkansas in the fall, learned that she had earned a sponsor's exemption to play in the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark.

The event is scheduled for Sept. 5-11, and Tubert is the fifth Razorback women's golfer to earn a sponsor's exemption and will be the 12th player in program history to take part in the event since it began in 2007.

Tubert said getting the opportunity to compete in her first LPGA event is special.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Tubert said. "I went out and watched the event last year and it's just a great tournament. To get to play in the tournament, in a place where there is so much support for the Razorbacks, is going to be incredible.

"I'm just fortunate to have the opportunity to do this and I'm excited. It should be a great experience."

Arkansas women's Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said she is impressed with what Tubert has been able to accomplish during her one year with the program.

"I've said many times that I couldn't be more proud of Emily and the accomplishments she has achieved as a Razorback," Estes-Taylor said on the university's website. "Earning an exemption into this event, which is quickly becoming a premier event on Tour, is another feather for her cap and she has a long way to go in her collegiate career. The sky is the limit for this young lady and I'm excited that Razorback fans will have a chance to see her and support her against the world's best players."

Tubert, the defending champion in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, played well in the event last week. She advanced to the round of 16 at the tournament in Bandon, Ore.

Tubert won her first match of the day in dramatic fashion over Harin Lee, 1 up, in the morning contest. Tubert and Lee were square after the first hole before Tubert took a lead on the second hole when Lee bogeyed the par-three pin.

Tubert went 2 up on the third hole and increased her lead to 3 on the ninth hole. But Lee played her way back into the match winning the 11th, 12th and 13th holes to even the score.

Lee then won the 14th hole when Tubert bogeyed the par 4, 306-yard hole and held onto the lead through the 17th hole, when Tubert again squared the match.

Tubert then won the 18th hole and the match when Lee bogeyed.

With the win, Tubert went on to face Brianna Do in the second match of the day. Tubert grabbed a lead on the third hole of the match and hung on through the 14th when Do squared the match with a birdie on the 14th hole.

Do went 1 up on the 15th and she held on for the win, eliminating Tubert from the contest.

Do, who competed for UCLA and went to high school at Long Beach Wilson, went on to capture the tournament championship.

"The tournament was a real learning experience for me," Tubert said. "It just put in perspective just how hard it is to win that event and it gave me some perspective and some appreciation for what I was able to accomplish last year.

"Losing to the eventual champion was tough because I was up for much of the match. You can't win everything, but as long as you take the positives from every tournament and learn from that, than you will only improve your game."

Tubert will return to Arkansas for her sophomore season after having a record-breaking freshman campaign with the Razorbacks. Tubert, won tournaments, earned Southeastern Conference player-of-the-week accolades, made the All-SEC team, was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team, the All-Central Region Team and helped lead Arkansas to the 2011 NCAA Women's Golf National Championship, where it finished tied for fifth.

However, Tubert earned her biggest honor of the year following the NCAA tournament when she garnered First-Team All-America honors by the National Golf Assn.

A Junior All-American at Burroughs, Tubert was the Leader's Female Athlete of the Year in 2009-10. She also captured a CIF Southern Section championship and was a two-time All-Area Girls' Golfer of the Year.